Aeroplane structural element.



UNITEDSTATES PATENT curios...

wrLLrs A. (masons, or FLUSHING, NEW YORK, AssIGNon. r AMERICAN RUBBER COMPANY, aiconrona'rrou or MAssAcHusnr'rs.

A EROPLANE STRUCTURAL ELEMENT.

No Drawing. p a

- To all whom it may concern:

varnish to imp used. The reason for only the wings but Structural Elements,

varnished fabrics are subsequent treatment during Be it known that I, WILLis Flushing, L. 1., county of Queens, andiState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements" in Aeroplane of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to aeroplane structural elements and has for an vide superior qualities therein, for this particular purpose, and reduce to a minimum the labor and expense of manufacture'and maintenance of air craft.

The present method of manufacturing aeroplane wings for instance, consists in stretching fabric upon the wing frame, and painting with nitro cellulose or some other art a smooth impervious surface, and the latter step 'must be repeated from time to time to ive maximum efiiciency. Frequently ru berized fabric is the use of rubber isthat it imparts a smooth surface which does not require frequent varnishing to render it impervious. k 7

However, both ordinary rubberized and objectionable because the product is affected by weather and-service conditions, variations in tension and contour being particularly noticeable. The

resent invention obviates the above and other disadvantages by the provision of a supporting sheet which is ready 1 for use without further treatment, and requires no the life of the can be built into not other structural parts of the machine, or may even form the parts themselves. L

In carrying out machine and which the invention, I preferably coat, by a spreader, or by a calendar, or by both, or otherwise, a sheet of fabric with a hard rubber composition, and vulcanize the composition to the fabric while the rubber is in contact witlf metal foil which imparts a polished, glass-like surface to the resultant product or supporting sheet.

The resultant product is a vulcanized hard rubber a d fabric sheet forming a uni- I tary integral structure which may be shaped during or prior to building of the machine to constitute various structural elements Specification of Letters Patent.

'A. GrBnonsf a citlzen of the United States,.,4'esiding' at object to probeing determined by the hardrub terized by a greater hardness and resistance Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

Application filed January i0, 1916. Serial No. 71,200.

to distortion under weather and service con-v ditions than the usual sized or rubber treat-- ed fabric. To distinguish between the ordinary rubber treated fabric now sometimes used, and

the product of the present invention, .it may be said that in the ordinary rubberized fabric product the waterproof and ble coat imparting no rigidity, bog. to the fabric. On the contrary hard ru preciable hardness, resistance to distortion, these perfectly elastic and flexistrength, andrigidity or roperties e; itself. Past efforts of rubber manufacturers'in producing rubberized aeroplane fabric have een ractically fruitless. This is probably ue to variations of tension, "contour,

rubber is simply a more or less strength, or;

er treated fabric exhibits decidedlyap- I etc., resulting in theproduct under varying weather and service conditions. The tension and contour of hard rubber treated fabric are unaffected by weather and service conditions. -Hard rubber treated fabric offers greater resistance to tearing and is more difficult to cut,-on account of its greater rigidity, than ordinary rubber treated fabric or even sized fabric, and thus is particularly adapted for use in structural parts of aeroplanes.

As far as I know I am the first to produce craft compris structural material for air ing hard rubber compound vulcanized 1n unitary integral association with a; backing of non-plastic material. Therefore, I do not limit myself to ized hard rubber compound with fibers, either separate or spun fabric, "but mean the scope of the invention to include even metallic or other wireseither separate or woven into a gauze or mesh.

I do not limit myself to the number of layers of the coat of hard rubber composition, nor to the particular the combination of vulcan surface 0f the and woven into backing to which the coat is a apiied since one surface or both surfaces may be coated with one or more layers as desired.

It Will be understood that a suitable fframe for supperting the sheet of material 15 empicyed,

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as, new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

An air-plane structural element embody 111g therein sheet of non-plastic materiel having a coating of herd euiober vificenizedi thereto, the outer surface 011* said rubber coating having imparted thereto the characteristics of rubber vulcanized in contact with a metal surface and being substantiefly frictienaliy non-resistant to air and Water and eframe for suppct ting said sheet,

Signed at New ef January, 19160 "WILLIS GL bBQNS.

Yerk, N. EC, this day 

